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Beta Colony
Beta Colony was one of the first planets in the wormhole Nexus to be settled by humans. The planet's biome isalmost entirely desert, described as "screaming hot," and the colony itself exists primarily underground. Sandstorms occur from time to time; the largest body of water is smaller than the lake at Vorkosigan Surleau on Barrayar. Location Beta Colony has few identified wormhole connections. Known routes include one that leads to Tau Verde IV via Dalton Station and one that leads to Escobar (though they could both start from a single common wormhole near Beta Colony). There is some sort of route connecting Beta Colony to Sergyar that was used by Cordelia Naismith's crew in Shards of Honor ''and which does not go by way of Escobar, but it is unclear whether it involves a special wormhole from Beta or if it's simply a side-route from one of the already-known ones. Culture Beta Colony is noted for being a remarkably egalitarian state. Betan culture is also well-known for its tolerance and liberal attitude towards all varieties of sexuality; a number of practices considered immoral on many other worlds, such as licensed prostitution (the name of the job is Licenced Practical Sexuality Therapist), public partial nudity (the most popular female garment is the topless sarong) and recreational drug use, are legal and accepted on Beta Colony. Beta Colony is also highly advanced, relative to most other planets, in many areas of technology and medicine. Many innovations mentioned in the Vorkosigan Saga originated on Beta Colony. For this reason, Betan dollars are considered one of the most stable and valuable currencies. Due to its restricted habitats, reproduction is tightly regulated. In order to have children, the two prospective "co-parents" must take a course together and pass a number of physical, psychological and economic tests before being issued parental licenses. Very few families are authorized to have more than two children. Three-fourths of all Betan children are gestated in uterine replicators, although co-parents who prefer to have their children through old-fashioned pregnancy are free to do so. Hermaphrodites form a significant minority of the Betan population; most of them live in the town of Quartz. As another ramification of Beta Colony's inhospitable climate and underground development, Betans do not have any noteworthy works of architecture, but are very proud of feats of grand interior design and enclosed public spaces, and consider natural materials such as wood to be almost ludicrously extravagant. Cordelia Naismith is astounded that Barrayarans would use an intricate, antique parquet wooden floor as a dance-floor; on Beta, it would have been preserved and safeguarded as a great work of art. Beta Colony does not have a large military, but it is one of the most technologically advanced in the nexus. Beta Colony is a major arms supplier for other worlds, but they usually only sell weapons that have been made obsolete by their own most recent developments. The civilian Betan Astronomical Survey , which serves a largely exploratory and scientific purpose, also acts as a reserve military force. The head of the Astronomical Survey is the Surveyor General. They reserve some spots specifically for non-Betans, but competition for these spots is fierce. Many place names on Beta Colony are derived from geological substances and phenomena, such as Quartz, named above, and the capital city of Silica, along with its attendant university, library, and zoo. The government includes, and is headed by, a President ("Steady Freddy" during ''Shards of Honor; a running joke through that book is that no one ever admits to voting for him). He/she has a Cabinet, though the only identified post is Press Secretary. There are departments, two of which are the Justice Department, called JusDep, and the State Department. Therapy is handled by the Mental Health Board, also called the M.H.B. Civil rights are near and dear to Betans' hearts; item one on their list of civil rights is "Access to information shall not be abridged." The people of Beta Colony generally have very good genetics and expect to live at least 120 year lives. All women and hermaphrodites have permanent contraceptive implants; one needs a permit to have it removed. Every adult Betan wears earrings; these encode the current sexual status of the individual who is wearing them. Poverty appears to be unknown on Beta Colony, though there are shelters available for people who do not have homes. A popular sport is "desert trekking." Mourning clothing appears to be black-on-purple brocade jacket with matching sarong (see Cetaganda, chapter 3). Near the end of Mirror Dance, Cordelia mentions that if the Barrayarans hadn't gotten there first, Sergyar could be a Betan daughter colony. This implies that Beta has colonized other worlds aside from its own through the Betan Astronomical Survey, but it is unknown what worlds those would be, or what form the colonization would take. A particularly well-known cultural attraction on Beta Colony is the Orb of Unearthly Delights. Famous Betans *'Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan' was born on Beta Colony and served in its military Survey Service until, falsely accused of several crimes, she sought asylum on Barrayar, home of Aral Vorkosigan whom she then married. Their son Miles Naismith Vorkosigan is 5/8 Betan; his paternal great-grandmother was also from Beta Colony. *'Admiral Naismith': Miles Vorkosigan has dual citizenship, through his mother. As a cover while acting as leader of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, he uses the Betan name "Miles Naismith" and speaks with a Betan accent. *'Bel Thorne' is a Betan hermaphrodite variously involved with the Dendarii Mercenaries. *'Arde Mayhew' is a Betan pilot. He used to do freighter runs, but joined the Dendarii Mercenaries upon their creation. He is a liege-sworn vassal to Miles Vorkosigan. *Elizabeth Naismith is Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan's mother. She does research-level work in uterine replicator technology at the Silica Hospital. She has also been known to take in strays from her Barrayaran relatives, such as Elli Quinn and Mark Vorkosigan. Tidbits *Prince Xav Vorbarra, son of Dorca the Just, once served as Barrayaran Ambassador to Beta Colony. During the Cetagandan invasion of Barrayar, Xav smuggled weapons to the Barrayaran Resistance. He also married a Betan woman, who worked in Beta Colony's Bureau of Interstellar Trade. The author speaks *According to the author, Beta Colony was one of the first two colonies founded off Earth, both by American efforts; the other, Alpha Colony, failed. Shortly thereafter, a world war destroyed much of America and effectively ended their space program, among others. As a result, Beta Colony, with its emphasis on personal freedom and tolerance, technological innovation, and economic stability and influence, and racial and cultural diversity, holds a place in the political landscape reminiscent of an idealized version of America. *A statement regarding Beta Colony's system of child credits from the author on the dendarii.com listserv, dated October 3, 2000: "A calculated number of third-child variances are given out each year by lottery; a certain number of these are reserved as rewards for outstanding citizens/contributors to Beta, chosen variously and probably by more than one group. While one's first permit (or, more accurately two half-permits, unless one chooses to clone oneself) is inalienable, and reverts to the pool if unused upon the death of its holder, lottery-won permits may be sold by their recipients to qualified purchasers, given away, or bequeathed." See also List of Vorkosigan Saga planets References Most books mention Beta Colony. Ones with particularly useful references include: *''Shards of Honor'' *''Barrayar'' *''The Warrior's Apprentice'' *''A Civil Campaign'' External links Category:Planets Category:Vorkosigan Saga planets